Lesson 1: Ink Line

Let's start with something basic: a simple black line.

We'll be working in Photoshop and will generally start each assignment with a new file, 8.5 by 11 inches at 300 dpi.

Once you've created your new document, click on your Brush tool. On the right side of the screen, click on the Brushes icon to open the Brushes window. Note that only the "Shape Dynamics" and "Smoothing" options in the Brush Presets checklist should be checked at this time. Choose a plain, round brush to start... something from the top two rows of the available brushes.

In the Brushes window, just below "Brush Presets", click on the next line; "Brush Tip Shape."  If your copy of Photoshop defaults to the same settings as mine, you'll notice something interesting about how a brush stroke  displays in the preview thumbnail at the bottom of the Brushes window.

Notice that the brush stroke from all the brushes in the top row of the palette is tapered looking (because Shape Dynamics is checked) but also looks solid and hard-edged along its entire length.

But when you chose a brush from the second row down the preview thumbnail shows a stroke that is soft and fuzzy.

That's because the "Hardness" slider option, which is located just above the stroke thumbnail preview, is preset to 100% (maximum hardness) for brushes in the top row of the palette and 0% (minimum hardness) for brushes in the second row of the palette. If you notice the brush you've selected is soft and fuzzy in the preview thumbnail window, slide the slider to maximum hardness.

You'll be using 'soft' brushes for other assignments, but I want your lines to look like they were made with a brush dipped in india ink for this assignment. To create this effect the edges of your lines should not look fuzzy.

Here's a great example of how diverse a simple ink brush line can look, depending on what you do with it. This is from the Famous Artists School correspondence course of the 1950s.

Try doing the execise w/ the 22 squares using a hard brush w/ shape dynamics checked so you get an "ink line" that tapers, as it would if you were using a real brush w/ india ink. This next page from the FAS is not to be reproduced by you - its simply to help you understand what we're trying to recreate digitally.

After you've done your best to recreate the look of the 22 squares, create an illustration that contains (at least) one organic thing, one inorganic thing and a figure as shown in this example by Paul Nonnast, a famous American illustrator of the 1950s:

Employ at least three of the 22 types of ink line from the exercise. Subject matter and style are your free choice.

File set up and delivery for marking:

(This will be the procedure for all our assignments in Digital Rendering)

In Photoshop, open a new file at 8.5 by 11 inches at 300 dpi.

Do this for each new assignment. Keep your layered working files for yourself - do NOT flatten them to save - always save in layers.

After you've saved your layered file, flatten and reduce the image to 150 dpi and do a 'Save as...' -- save as a medium quality jpeg and send your work (exercise and illustration) to pengprofessor[at][geemale][dot]com

* Translate the email address above as you would write a normal email address. I've written it this way to disguise it from webcrawling spam bots.